Rose and Dimitri's Marriage
by autumnrose2010
Summary: Rose and Dimitri's honeymoon and the first few years of their marriage.
1. Chapter 1

I awoke to find I was lying in bed naked with Dimitri's arms around me. The events of the previous day washed over me and filled me with ecstasy. At last Dimitri and I were married; I'd given myself to him last night, and we'd fallen asleep in each other's arms.

Of course I knew Dimitri had been with other women before me, and in the back of my mind, I wondered whether he compared me to any of them, but of course it wasn't the kind of thing I could ever ask him.

I yawned, relishing the new feeling of closeness I shared with the man I loved. Now that we were finally together, I couldn't bear the thought of ever being separated from him again.

Dimitri blinked and looked at me, and a slow grin spread all over his face.

"Well, good morning, beautiful!" he said.

"Good morning." I suddenly felt a bit shy.

"Did you sleep well?" he asked me.

"Mm hm. Did you?"

"Like a baby."

He began to kiss my lips, softly at first, then more urgently. I felt him grow hard against the bare skin of my abdomen, and he moved and slipped inside me, and we were making love again. I was still tight, but it didn't hurt as much as it had the night before.

"I just love you so much, Roza," he said as we held each other afterwards.

"I love you too, more than I've ever loved anyone before." It was true.

"I can't tell you how much I appreciate your saving yourself for me," he continued as he stroked my hair.

"Well." I didn't quite know how to respond.

"The past is all behind us now, my love." He placed gentle kisses down the side of my face. "The future is all ours, babe. It belongs to us, just you and me."

We went to the lobby for the breakfast buffet, then back to our rooms to put on our swimsuits and headed for the beach.

We lay on our towels working on our tans for awhile, and then Dimitri said he was going for a walk along the beach. I took his hand, and he led me along the shore. It was the most beautiful sight I'd ever seen. The water was so clear you could see the little crabs scurrying below and the little minnows swimming around, and the sky was the bluest I'd ever seen. The waves gently caressed our toes as we walked along, and every so often, I stopped to pick up a pretty seashell.

For lunch he took me to a little restaurant near the shore that served authentic Hawaiian fare. We chatted and laughed as we fed each other Kahlua Pig, and later, I tried lilikoi for the very first time and loved it.

After lunch I was a bit drowsy, so we went back to the motel for a nap, then spent the rest of the evening making love.

"Oh God, Roza, I just can't get enough of you," Dimitri moaned as he placed soft kisses along my collarbone. "Definitely worth the wait! Was it for you?"

"Of course!" I replied. His fingers were between my legs, stroking me there, sending electric jolts of pleasure coursing through my veins. We made love several more times. By then it was getting late and we were both a bit hungry, so Dimitri said he'd take me for a night on the town.

He took me to the Vintage Cave Cafe for dinner, where the seats were under a blue dome with paintings of undersea deities, which gave us the sensation of eating a meal underwater, and after that, we went to the Ginza Nightclub, where we danced until four in the morning.

We were so exhausted we slept until afternoon the next day, not awakening until about two in the afternoon with our stomachs growling. We had sandwiches in the motel lobby, and then Dimitri asked if I'd like to go shopping with a twinkle in his eye.

"Hell to the yes!" I replied.

He took me to Ala Moana, where I literally went crazy going from store to store, buying clothes, shoes, jewelry, makeup, books, CD's - anything I saw and wanted, I bought.

"How in the world are you gonna get all that stuff home?" Dimitri teased.

"I'll find a way," I promised.


	2. Chapter 2

Our honeymoon in Hawaii turned out to be everything I'd imagined it would be, and more. For two whole weeks, I enjoyed a whirlwind of excitement and fun. Every day brought new discoveries and delights, and best of all, the man I loved was there at my side.

On the morning of our departure, I struggled to pack all my purchases into my suitcase. Dimitri looked at me and laughed.

"What did I tell you?"

"Yeah, I guess I _did_ get kind of carried away." Frustrated, I slammed the lid of the suitcase down, crossed my arms, and flopped into a nearby chair.

"That's all right. I have a little room left in my suitcase," he offered.

"Thanks," I said, stuffing a couple of swimsuits into his suitcase, then kissing his lips.

On the way to the airport, I looked out the car window at the scenery, imprinting it on my memory for in case I never got to see it again, and I couldn't help feeling just a little sad as we entered the airport.

The flight home seemed to last much longer than our previous flight had, and as I started out the window at the tops of the clouds, I began to feel sleepy and dozed on Dimitri's shoulder. Before I knew it, he was shaking me awake.

"We're home, hon."

I yawned and stretched, then stood and followed him off the airplane.

A grinning Ivan stood waiting to drive us to our new home. He wore beige shorts with a Hawaiian print shirt. He waved to us, and I smiled and waved back.

"Welcome home, newlyweds!" he called to us, pulling Dimitri in for a hug.

"My new daughter," he welcomed me as he hugged me in turn. "How was Hawaii?" he asked us both.

"It was the most beautiful place I've ever seen!" I enthused.

"Olena and I think so as well," he told me.

"If you aren't in any particular hurry to get home, she ordered take-out from Ben's," he told us once we were inside the Jaguar.

"Sounds great!" said Dimitri.

After the long flight, I was quite hungry, and the thought of food made my mouth water. Ivan parked in the parking garage, and Dimitri and I followed him into the apartment. Olena met us at the door. She wore a red and orange sundress.

"Welcome back, dearies." She kissed first Dimitri, then me, on the cheek. "How was your honeymoon? Did you have a nice time?"

"It was great!" Dimitri told her.

"It was," I agreed.

The food was delicious. As we were eating, Olena asked me many questions about our stay in Hawaii.

"Ah, yes, I've always loved Ala Moana," she said at one point. "The variety is just incredible! I could shop in there all day, and I also love the Woori Mart."

I'd looked around in the Woori Mart as well, but the prices had taken my breath away. I could easily imagine Olena strolling up and down its aisles, selecting anything that suited her fancy.

After we finished eating, I showed her some of my purchases. She complimented me on my good taste, and later, Ivan drove Dimitri and me to our new apartment.

It was in Washington Heights, all the way across town. It was a small, one-bedroom apartment on the second floor. The living room walls were painted light yellow, and the wall beside the door contained sliding glass doors. A bar separated the living room from the small kitchen, and across from it was a short hall leading to the bedroom and restroom. Several storage closets lined the hallway.

"Well, this is it." Dimitri gave me a small smile. "I know it's not much, but I hope you like it, Roza."

"It's just fine, Dimitri. It's a charming little place. I love it." I yawned. "But right now I want to take a nap."

"Right now, I've got other ideas." His lips nuzzled my neck, making sucking noises, as his arms pulled me tight around the waist. He took me by the hand and led me into the bedroom, where he began to peel my clothing off slowly, piece by piece, and I did the same to him. First came his t-shirt, then his shorts, and he stood before me in just his underpants, his swollen member pressed against the front, making a tent-like indentation. A moment later they lay in a pile at his feet, and I took his organ into my hand, admiring its velvety feel as I slowly moved my fingers from its base to its tip.

"You're getting me very turned on," he muttered in a voice very close to a growl as he played with my nipples, rolling and teasing them between his fingertips until they were hard. Then he slipped his fingers between my legs. "God, you're wet."

Both of us were ready, so ready, in fact, that it lasted barely five minutes. Afterwards, we cuddled and took a short nap together.

I awoke abruptly a short time later to hear Dimitri still lightly snoring beside me.

 _I need to call Mom,_ I said to myself. _I haven't even talked to her since we got back._

I dialed her number and, after a couple of rings, heard her say hello.

"Mom? It's me. We just got back."

"I'm so glad to hear from you!" she said. "How did your honeymoon go? Did you enjoy yourself?"

"It went fine, and yes, I enjoyed myself very much," I told her.

"What about Dimitri? Was he gentle?"

I sighed and rolled my eyes. "Yes, Mom, he was a perfect gentleman."

"I want to hear all about it!"

I told her about the fun we'd had on the beach, the various restaurants we'd eaten at, our shopping expeditions, and my purchases.

"How have all of you been?" I asked her.

"We've all been really well," she told me.


	3. Chapter 3

Dinner with my parents went fine, but all too soon Monday morning rolled around. Dimitri kissed me goodbye and headed for work, and I got out my clarinet and began to practice. My plan was to attend a blind audition at the Washington Heights Chamber Orchestra in a few days. I knew I'd be competing against many other clarinet players, so my chance of winning a spot on the first orchestra I auditioned for was very small, so I'd decided to just start with the closest one to where I lived.

I practiced clarinet all morning, then took a break for lunch. After lunch I did some light housework, then practiced clarinet until it was time to start dinner.

It would be the first meal I would prepare as a married woman. I found spaghetti and sauce in the cabinet, and in the refrigerator was the pound of ground meat I'd taken down to defrost earlier, so I made spaghetti. I'd boiled the pasta and was stirring the sauce into the ground meat when Dimitri entered the apartment.

"Hello, beautiful," he said as he kissed me. "How was your day?"

"It was all right," I replied. "I cleaned house and practiced clarinet. How was yours?"

"Tiring." He yawned. "The camera ran out of film halfway through a shoot, a couple pieces of equipment broke down, and a notebook or two went missing - and that was just this morning." He snorted. "Later someone threw up on stage, and we discovered we were low on cleaning supplies. Somebody, probably me, will have to purchase more tomorrow, and that will cut into the production schedule."

"Sounds terrible." I waited for him to sit down, then began to massage his shoulders. He groaned in appreciation.

I served up the spaghetti, and we both dug in. I watched Dimitri's face as he took his first bite and saw his eyes close halfway as a smile spread over his face.

"Delicious!" he said. "What's your secret?"

"Not telling," I giggled, and he joined in.

* * *

On the day of the blind audition, I took the subway to the building and entered a large room full of black chairs with a stage up front. To one side of the stage was a black curtain, and sitting in the chairs were dozens of people of both genders and various races and ages. I searched for a vacant chair and finally found one in the back row.

I saw I was sitting beside a tall, willowy blonde with her hair pulled back in a clip.

"Hi," I said.

"Hello," she replied, appraising me with her eyes.

"I'm Rose," I told her.

"I'm Selena," she said.

"So, how many auditions have you been to?" I asked.

"Oh, several dozen, over the past couple of years or so." She chuckled. "I'm getting to be a pro at that."

"Several _dozen?"_ I couldn't believe my ears.

"Oh, yes. You?"

"This is my first one. I just graduated." In my mind's eye, I saw myself in two years' time, still trudging around from audition to audition while life passed me by.

"This is a very competitive field," she told me. "Unless you're extremely talented and possess a reservoir of persistence as well as patience, you'll never make it as a professional musician."

One by one, the contestants were called up to perform for the judges. Hours passed. My stomach began to rumble. I took out the peanut butter and jelly sandwich I'd brought along and, out of the corner of my eye, saw Selena doing the same thing.

We ate our sandwiches and chips and waited some more, until finally, Selena was called up to perform.

"Good luck," I told her.

"Thanks, and to you as well," she replied.

I watched as she walked to the stage, got out her clarinet, and began to play 'Adagio' by Mozart.

"Very good," came a voice from behind the curtain when she was finished.

It was my turn next, and trying hard to keep my knees from knocking together, I somehow made my way to the stage, where I cleared my throat and then began to play 'Andante Un Poco Adagio' by Brahms.

I was hardly a third of the way through the piece when a voice spoke abruptly from behind the curtain. "Thank you. We'll be in touch."

Tears filled my eyes as I left the stage, nearly stumbling off it in my haste to get away. I'd practiced for days, then waited hours for the chance to perform, only to be given the brush off, dismissed as if I were a curious insect at a picnic.

 _I'll **never** have a paid position as a clarinet player! _I told myself as I boarded the subway for the ride home.

Later, I remembered what Selena had told me about all the auditions she'd been to, and it made me feel ashamed about what a baby I was to cry over just one audition with a discouraging outcome. Of _course_ I'd have to keep auditioning if I wanted my lucky break to come, and until it did, I'd just have to be patient.

By the time Dimitri got home from work, I'd composed myself and prepared dinner.

"How did the audition go?" he asked as we were eating.

I sighed. "I don't think I did very well. I wasn't even halfway through my piece when they thanked me and said they'd be in touch. While I was waiting for my turn, I talked to this woman sitting beside me, and she told me she'd been to a whole bunch over a couple of years, so obviously it can take a really long time to get chosen." _If you **ever** are, _I added to myself.

"Actually, one of the girls who worked in the box office walked off the job today. Would you like me to recommend you to the manager?" he asked.

I shrugged. "You might as well. I have to do _something -_ I can't just hang around here all the time."


	4. Chapter 4

The box office manager called me for an interview the following week. I wore brown slacks with a cream colored blouse and black flats as I boarded the bus to go to Broadway. My first sight of it brought memories rushing back as I recalled the first time I'd seen it.

It had been a little over two years before, when I was sixteen and in the tenth grade. Dimitri had got me a bit part in a play in which he was starring, and that had led to a more significant role in the movie 'You Were Made For Me.'

After a fairy-tale summer in Hollywood, I'd returned to finish my final two years of high school, and now here I was once again, although this time in very different circumstances.

I entered the lobby and approached the ticket booth, where a fresh-faced girl of about twenty, whose face was framed with sandy blonde ringlets, sat filing her nails.

"Ticket sales don't start until four," she told me.

"My name is Rose Belikov, and I have an appointment with Mr. Riley at two thirty," I told her.

She popped a bubble with her gum and nodded toward a nearby sofa. "I'll let him know you're here."

I sat on the sofa and looked around at all the posters of Broadway musicals and plays. The one I'd starred in, "Leaving Yesterday Behind,' wasn't among them. I wasn't surprised.

At last the manager, Guy Riley, burst into the lobby toward me, grinning as he shook my hand.

"Rose Belikov! Come on back."

Guy was a short, wiry man with unruly brown hair and a beard. He had a lively demeanor.

He ushered me into a small and untidy but comfortable-looking office and motioned for me to sit down. He leaned back in his seat behind his desk and held his fingers together in the position of a steeple.

"Dimitri tells me you and he were in a play together a couple of years ago."

"Yes, sir. It was called 'Leaving Yesterday Behind.'"

"Hm. So do you have any work experience other than that?"

"In the summer of 2007, I also starred in the movie 'You Were Made For Me.'"

"I remember it. What I'm looking for, Rose, is someone who's well organized and good with the public. Does this sound like you?"

"Yes sir."

He frowned and returned to an upright position. "Did you work part time while in high school? Any summer jobs?"

I felt my heart sink. "No, sir. I was busy helping care for my family and practicing clarinet. To be honest, I'd planned to start auditioning for orchestras right after I graduated high school, and I've already been to one audition."

 _How stupid can you get, girl?_ I chided myself, mentally giving myself a huge kick in the butt. _He's looking for a permanent employee, not someone who'll only stick around until something better comes up._

"What are your math skills like?" asked Guy. "Some people still pay cash, so you have to know how to make change."

"I guess they're all right." _Girl, are you flubbing this!_ I thought to myself.

"That's about all I need to know," said Guy. "I have a few other people to interview. If you haven't heard anything by the end of the week, call us."

"Thank you." I smiled and held out my hand, and he shook it as he smiled back, which made me feel a little bit better.

On the way home, I stopped at the supermarket for some chicken to cook for dinner, then went home and found things to do around the house until it was time to start cooking it.

Dimitri arrived home at the usual time. "So how did the interview go?" he asked after hugging and kissing me.

"I think I blew it big time," I admitted.

He smiled. "Don't be too sure about that. My guess is you did better than you think you did."

He must have been right, as several days later, I received a telephone call from a woman who identified herself as Dara.

"Guy wants to know if you can start work Tuesday at one o'clock in the afternoon," she told me.

"Absolutely!" I replied.

"Great. See you then."

Although a little disappointed it hadn't been the orchestra who'd called, I was still thankful I'd have something to fill up the empty days and help Dimitri with the bills.

"Guess what!" I said as soon as Dimitri came home. "I got the job!"

He grinned. "Congratulations! I knew you could do it!"

I was filled with optimism and hope as I boarded the subway for the journey to Broadway on Tuesday. I entered the lobby to see the same girl sitting behind the counter who'd been there the day of my interview.

"Are you Rose?" she asked. I nodded.

"Nice to meet you. I'm Dara." She extended her hand, and I shook it. "Come on back and I'll introduce you to everyone and get you started."

She introduced me to her co-workers, Taylor and Jordan, and then showed me how to organize blocks of tickets. The task was easy and pleasant, and before I knew it, it was time to leave.

"You did very well," Dara told me. "See you on Thursday."

As I was riding home on the subway, it occurred to me I'd forgotten to do anything about dinner. Would Dimitri be angry?

As it turned out, I needn't have worried. I entered the apartment to find a Reuben sandwich with chips sitting on the table, waiting for me.

"Wow, thanks!" I said before digging in.

"No problem," Dimitri replied. "How did your first day of work go?"

"Busy! I think I'm gonna dream about tickets tonight."

He laughed.

* * *

My schedule turned out to be one o'clock until nine o'clock Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday. Saturday was much busier than either of the other two days. After the first couple of days, Dara started training me on ticket sales, which turned out to be a real challenge, as not only did I have to work fast, but I had to be accurate as well, to ensure the cash drawer didn't come up short. That caused me a lot of anxiety for a long time, but I did my best and didn't make very many mistakes.


	5. Chapter 5

On Friday night, Dimitri decided to teach me how to bowl.

"Now's as good a time as any," he remarked.

"It'll be nice to do something different for a change," I agreed.

We arrived to find the ally half deserted.

"I think you should start off with a light weight ball." He handed the ball to me, and I almost dropped it.

"It feels pretty heavy to me!" I laughed.

Dimitri rented our lanes, balls, and shoes, and we got started. He rolled a spare right away and knocked the last remaining pin down on his second roll.

"This is how you hold the ball." He showed me, and I tried to imitate him.

"You have to hold your arm straight, like this," he said. "If you bend it, the ball will go into the gutter."

I tried to emulate his motions and watched with glee as my ball rolled straight down the aisle toward the pins, only to feel my heart plummet as the ball nearly reached the pins, then suddenly veered and rolled right into the gutter.

"You bent your arm at the last minute," he told me. "I saw you. Next time, really try to concentrate on keeping your arm straight."

I did, and knocked over four pins. Even though it was only four, my heart filled with joy.

We played two games. I got 40 and 60, and Dimitri got 220 and 180.

"I started getting tired there toward the end," he explained. "Hey, cheer up. You'll do better next time, I promise." I managed a small smile.

He bought us nachos, and we ate them and then went home.

"Thank you for tonight," I told him as we were getting ready for bed that night. "It was nice to be able to just forget everything and have fun for a couple of hours."

"It certainly was, and you're very welcome." Clad only in his underwear, he pulled me close and began to kiss me.

In no time at all, the underwear was shed.


	6. Chapter 6

I decided to call my best friend, Lissa, that evening.

"Hi!" she said, sounding surprised and happy to hear from me. "How are you?"

"I'm OK. I've applied to a bunch of department stores. I'm hoping one of them will call me soon. How's married life?"

"I'd highly recommend it." We both laughed. "The honeymoon was great! We had a lot of fun in Hawaii, and then when we got back, I auditioned for a spot in an orchestra. I never heard back from them, but Dimitri helped me get on at the box office on Broadway. It doesn't pay much, but at least it helps with the bills."

"At least you have a job," Lissa pointed out.

"I'm sure something will come along for you soon," I replied. "Hey, how'd you like to catch a matinee movie at the mall Wednesday? Dimitri has to work that day, so it'll be just you and me."

"Great!" said Lissa. "That'll give us a chance to touch base again."

The movie we saw was called 'The Unknown Woman', and afterwards, we went to the pretzel place for a snack. We ate in silence for a few minutes, and then Lissa spoke.

"What's with Dimitri moving back to New York? I thought he lived in California now."

"He had to go back to work on Broadway," I told her. "He made a movie that flopped, and sometimes when that happens, you don't get another chance."

"Aw, that's a real shame." She took another bite of her pretzel. "That one you and he made together was so good!"

"Yeah." I took a sip of my diet soda. "Hollywood can be pretty unpredictable, I guess."

"I never had the slightest desire to become an actress," said Lissa.

"I never thought of myself as an actress, either," I admitted. "All I ever cared about before was playing the clarinet. Meeting Dimitri changed all that."

"So would you still want to be in another movie, even after what happened to Dimitri?"

"You know what? I don't know! To be honest, I haven't really given it any thought." I dipped my pretzel in cheese sauce. "How do you feel about it?"

She laughed. "Aw, I can't act!"

"You never know until you try," I told her.


	7. Chapter 7

Dimitri decided it was time to teach me how to drive.

"You can't always depend of buses or subways to be there," he told me. "Someday we may live somewhere that doesn't have them."

Like where? I wanted to ask, but didn't.

One Sunday morning, he drove me to a big open field in the suburbs, parked the car, and changed seats with me.

It felt weird to be sitting behind the steering wheel for the first time. Dimitri started by showing me how to change from 'park' to 'drive' and then to reverse. After that, he showed me all the lights and signals on the dashboard and told me what they were for.

"Slow down!" I complained. "You're going way to fast!"

He laughed. "Relax, Rose. You'll get it!"

He showed me how to crank the car and turn the ignition off. I followed his example.

"Great!" he told me. "Now crank it up again, and then move from park to drive."

I did as he told me.

"Now take your left foot off the brake," he said.

I did, and the car rolled forward, then stopped.

"Give it a little more gas," he told me.

I pressed my foot all the way down on the accelerator, and the car shot forward. I screamed.

"Brake!" yelled Dimitri. I did, and the car jolted to a stop, throwing us both forward.

"I'm sorry," I said.

"You need to learn how to accelerate and brake gradually," he told me. "Let's try it again."

I moved my foot from the brake to the accelerator, pushing down on it gently. The car began to roll forward slowly.

"That's much better," he told me.


	8. Chapter 8

My nineteenth birthday arrived.

"Good morning, birthday girl," Dimitri said as he kissed me awake that morning.

"Good morning." I yawned and stretched luxuriously in the bed, my toes pointing toward the bed posts. "Something sure smells good!"

"I cooked breakfast for us." And so he had. Fried eggs, turkey bacon, hash browns, biscuits, fresh fruit, and coffee.

"Wow, you're really spoiling me!" I said with a smile. He smiled back as he fed me my first delicious bite.

I was off work that day, and Dimitri took the day off as well to spend it with me.

We went to Central Park, where we walked hand in hand down a broad walkway lined by trees with overhanging branches that were laced together. We decided to visit the zoo first. In the indoor rain forest, we watched as a black and yellow toucan flitted from branch to branch as a couple of parakeets shared a meal from a feeder. Lizards napped in trees while huge turtles remained nearly motionless on the ground.

Next we went to look at the primates, then the penguin house. It was chilly in there, and I wished I'd brought along a jacket.

After the zoo, we went to see the Strawberry Fields memorial, then the Swedish Cottage Marionette Theater. I really enjoyed the play they put on.

Next we walked around looking at structures and exhibitions for awhile. When we got hungry, we ate lunch at the Loeb Boathouse, then went to a concert. After that, Dimitri said it was time to go home.

"Already?" I asked. I'd been enjoying myself so much I was completely unaware of the passage of time. Now I looked at the sun and saw it was beginning to set.

"Already," Dimitri replied with a smile.

"Is there any reason we have to hurry home?" I asked.

He winked at me. "There might be."

When we left, he drove me not to our own home, but to my parents' home.

I noticed the flutter of a curtain in a window as we walked toward the house. We were hardly inside before we heard it.

"Surprise!" Mom held a large white sheet cake with pale pink icing.

"Wow!" was all I could say.

"Sweet Rose, we just want to let you know how proud we all are of you, and how much we love you," said Mom.

"I love you, too." Tears were in my eyes as I hugged first her, then Dad.

After everyone had had cake and ice cream, I was handed my presents. Mom and Dad gave me a pair of beautiful plum colored suede boots. Dimitri gave me a lovely gold necklace with a heart-shaped birthstone pendant.


	9. Chapter 9

A lot happened over the next few weeks. Several days after my birthday, I finally felt ready to take the test to get my driver's license. Dimitri drove me to the office and stayed with me for moral support as I sat in the waiting room full of high school kids. My palms were so sweaty I had to keep wiping them on my pants.

At last my name was called, and I walked to the front to meet the examiner, who led me outside. We both got into the car. I noticed it was sprinkling rain.

"Do you think I should turn on the wipers?" I asked.

"I'm not going to tell you how to drive," she snapped. "You should already know how."

Great start, I thought to myself.

I bit my lip, cranked up the engine, and pulled out onto the road. As I drove along, I emptied my mind of everything but Dimitri's past instructions, which I concentrated on with all my might. Every few minutes, I saw movement out of the corner of my eye and knew the examiner was checking off a mistake I'd just made.

It was with great relief that I finally pulled into the parking lot of the office. I parked in the first available space I could find, shut off the engine, and waited for the verdict.

"You turn curves too sharply, and you need to work on staying inside the lane," the examiner told me. "I almost had to disqualify you for that, but you passed the exam. Come inside so we can take your picture."

Relief flooded through me as I followed her back into the office. I sat for my picture to be taken, then waited for my license to be printed out. As soon as I held it in my hand, still warm to the touch, I walked back out to the lobby, where Dimitri waited.

"That big grin must mean you passed," he remarked.

I nodded.

"Congratulations," he said with a smile. "I knew you could do it."

* * *

One day at work, I was in the cafeteria looking at all the choices when it occurred to me the idea of eating anything at all with meat in it made me feel icky. Finally deciding on a grilled cheese sandwich and a vanilla milkshake, I paid for my lunch and slid into a booth when I saw Taylor walk in.

"Hey, girl, where's that hamburger I see you eating every day?" she asked.

"I just wasn't in the mood for a hamburger today," I told her.

She looked worried. "Are you all right?"

"I guess so." Except for being turned off by foods with meat in them, I was fine.

Nevertheless, I found myself yawning on the way home that night, and when I stepped inside, the aroma of lasagna made me feel like gagging.

A smiling Dimitri came over to meet me. "I hope you're hungry! I remembered how much you said you liked lasagna."

"Oh, thank you, sweetheart!" I hugged him, then yawned again.

"Are you all right?" he asked.

"I'm fine," I replied. "Just a little tired, is all."

I tried to choke down the lasagna but ended up having to go to the bathroom to puke it back up halfway through the meal.

"You must be coming down with a stomach virus," said Dimitri. "You should go to bed and stay there. I'll go out and buy Gatorade, broth, crackers, and bananas."

"That sounds yummy, but I don't think I'm sick," I replied. "My period's over two weeks late. It's never been that late before. I'll pick up a pregnancy test at the pharmacy tomorrow."


	10. Chapter 10

"Really?" He stood back from me and stared straight into my eyes. "Roza, that's great!"

"We won't know for sure until I take the test," I pointed out.

"I'll bet you are," he said. "I think that's wonderful, Roza. I'm thrilled to be having a baby with you."

I felt a mixture of joy and worry. I'd always just assumed I'd marry and have children someday, but now that the reality may actually be here, the idea made me nervous as hell. Me as a mother? I'd never even babysat before! How could I ever take care of a tiny baby all by myself?

The next day, I went to the pharmacy and bought a home pregnancy test. Rather than rush to the bathroom to take it right away, I decided to wait until Dimitri got home so I could tell him the result as soon as I knew it myself.

When I got home, I put the test in the medicine cabinet and went about my normal routine but wasn't able to focus on anything else. I literally counted down the minutes until Dimitri arrived home.

My heart skipped a beat when I heard the key turn in the lock. A moment later, Dimitri walked in with a smile on his face.

"Hey, sweetie!" he called to me.

"Hi." I went to him and gave him a hug and kiss. "How was your day?"

"Oh, tiring as usual. I couldn't wait to get home to you." He followed me to the table. "So, did you get it today?"

"Yep. I waited for you to get home so we could do it together. Do you want to have dinner first or take the test first?"

"Dinner can wait."

"Yeah, it can," I agreed.

I went into the bathroom and did the test, then went back out.

"It'll be ready in five minutes," I told Dimitri. "I'm scared to look. Will you look at it for me?"

"Sure!"

Not knowing what to do for five minutes, we just stood around in the hallway, checking our watches every five seconds, until finally the five minutes were up and Dimitri went into the bathroom, returning several seconds later grinning ear to ear.

"I am?" I asked.

He nodded, and we both shouted with joy as we hugged each other.

"We're gonna be parents!" Dimitri exulted. "I'm calling Mom and Dad right now!"

He called his parents first, and then I called mine. Mom answered the telephone.

"Guess what!" I said. "I'm pregnant!"

"That's wonderful, honey," she replied. "I'm so happy for you, and I know your Dad will be too. When's your due date?"

"I don't know," I told her. "I just now took a home pregnancy test. I haven't been to the doctor yet."

"Well, you know you need to go as soon as possible," she said. "Your own health, as well as your baby's, depends on it."

"I know, Mom," I replied.

* * *

At the suggestion of Olena, I decided to make an appointment with her OB/GYN, Dr. Friedman. He turned out to be a tall, stocky man with thick curly dark brown hair and a beard. I felt a little uneasy at first, but as soon as he smiled and said hello, I felt completely at ease - well, at least as much as was possible, considering I was lying on my back with my feet up in stirrups, completely naked except for a flat white 'blanket' made of folded paper.

"Let's see what's going on," he said in his disarming manner as he sat on the rolling stool at the end of the examination table. I flinched as soon as I felt his touch.

"Relax," he told me. "I promise you, this won't hurt a bit."

I closed my eyes, took deep breaths, and imagined myself lying on the beach.

"Congratulations," he said after a few minutes. "Your uterus is enlarged. I'd say you're about four weeks along. What was the first day of your last menstrual cycle?"

"I think it was about the second weekend in September."

"Get dressed, and my nurse will lead you to the ultrasound room," he told me. "We'll get a better indication of your due date that way."

I did as he told me. In the ultrasound room, I lay back with my abdomen exposed as the tech rubbed cold jelly on it with a wand, and grainy images appeared on the screen.

"This is your baby." The tech outlined what looked to me like a peanut-shaped blob. "From its current appearance, I'd place your due date at June 15, 2010."

Wow, I thought. In less than a year's time, I'll be holding that baby in my arms.

Later, Dr. Friedman had some more questions for me. I sat across from him in his office and answered them.

"This is your first pregnancy, right?"

"Right."

"Does your family have any inherited diseases of any kind?"

"Not that I know of."

"What about the baby's father? Is this his first child as well?"

"Yes."

"Does his family have a history of birth defects?"

"Not that I know of."

"Great. I'll see you again in a couple of weeks. We'll do another ultrasound then. Tell your mother-in-law I said hello."

When Dimitri came home that evening, he asked how my doctor's appointment had gone.

"He examined me and did an ultrasound," I told him. "I'm supposed to go back in a couple of weeks for another. Will you go with me?"

"I wouldn't miss it for the world!" he replied.

I took the ultrasound picture I'd been given out of my purse and showed it to him.

"This is what our baby looks like now," I told him.

"Our baby," he echoed, hugging me tight. "How long before they can tell what it is?"

"I don't know," I said. "I didn't think to ask. Does it matter to you?"

He considered the question for a moment. "Not really, as long as it's healthy."

"That's all that really matters," I agreed.


	11. Chapter 11

Dimitri drove me to Dr. Friedman's office for the second ultrasound. I could tell he was just as excited as I was.

On the screen, our little 'peanut' looked slightly larger than it had before.

"These are the arm and leg buds," the technician said as she pointed them out.

"What is this shaded area?" Dimitri pointed.

"That's the ear," the technician told him.

He smiled. "Of course. I should have known that."

"Everything looks fine," said the technician. "Your baby seems to be developing right on schedule. See the receptionist for your next appointment."

I made an appointment for November, and then Dimitri drove me home.

"Things are looking up for us, Roza," he told me as we rode along. "There's the baby, and now Lukas has an idea for a new movie about Archduke Franz Ferdinand. If it's approved, production could start early next year."

"Who's that guy you mentioned?" I asked.

"Archduke Franz Ferdinand. He was the heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne about a hundred years ago. His assassination was the main reason World War I started."

"Wow, that sure was a long time ago," I commented.

"Yeah. I've never been much of a history buff myself, but if it's approved, I believe this could be just the thing to get my acting career going again."

"I hope it works out for you, Dimitri." All I could think about was how easily he's shucked me aside when he'd been at the top before, how he'd come crawling back to me when he'd hit the bottom. If he made another hit movie and became a star again, would he abandon me once more?

"For _us,_ Roza." He patted my hand. "For you, me, and our baby. I want our child to have the best start in life possible. Don't you?"

"Of course I do!"

"I want my son or daughter to have all the advantages I had growing up. Vegetarian OK?"

"Sure, that's fine."

He picked up a pizza for our dinner, and we went home and ate it. I tried my best to believe him, to push my worries and doubts aside and be happy for him, and I almost succeeded.

* * *

Mom took me shopping one weekend.

"You'll start outgrowing your clothes before you know it," she told me.

We went to the maternity store in the mall, where I bought a maternity bra that could also serve as a nursing bra, two pairs of pants with stretchy stuff in front, and three huge shirts.

"That's probably enough for now," she told me as we left the store. "Although I'm sure you'll want to come shopping again several more times before the baby's born."

We went to the food court for a snack before returning home. It gave us a chance to talk.

"It's so nice to spend quality time together with you," Mom said as she sipped her drink. "We haven't really spent any time together, just you and me, in how long?"

"Since before I got married last summer." We laughed.

"Time really flies, doesn't it?"

* * *

"Wow!" Dimitri's eyes nearly popped out of his head when I showed him the new clothes I'd just purchased. "I can't imagine you ever getting that big, Roza!"

"Neither can I." Suddenly I felt terribly depressed. Would Dimitri still think I was sexy when my abdomen became huge?

"Aw, cheer up." He came to me and gave me a hug. "You're not even showing yet!"

"I'm just tired." I yawned. "It's been kind of a long day."

"Why don't you get some rest." His voice was tender as he kissed my cheek. "You definitely don't want to overdo it."

Afraid perhaps I _had_ overdone it, I went to bed soon afterwards.


	12. Chapter 12

I should have realized things were going too good, that something would happen soon that would shake my world. I was on my lunch break at work when I received the telephone call.

"Your Granny had a massive heart attack this morning," Mom told me. "We must leave right now if we want to see her alive."

"Oh my God!" I felt as if the wind had just been knocked out of me. "Where are you?"

" I'm on my way to the airport."

"I'll be there as soon as I can," I told Mom. "I have to leave," I said to Dara when I got off the telephone. "I have a family emergency."

"Of course, by all means!" she replied.

Dimitri and Lukas had flown to California together, so I would be alone for the rest of the week. I went back home to pack for several days, as I had no idea how long I'd be away, then hurried to the airport.

I arrived to find Mom with a panicked look on her face. I purchased my ticket and walked over to them.

"Rose! I'm so glad you're here!" Mom reached for me and pulled me into a hug.

"When did it happen?" I asked as I returned the hug.

"Several hours ago," Mom told me. "She's in a coma, hooked up to life support. They told me if I ever want to see her alive again, I have to come now."

The flight was brief and uneventful, and none of us said much. As we arrived in the airport and took the taxi to the hospital, I felt as if I was standing outside myself, watching my body go through the motions. My numbness soon turned to dread as I wondered what my grandmother would look like lying in bed, fragile, helpless, and clinging to life by a thin thread. Would I be able to take it?

We entered the hospital, and the antiseptic odor assaulted my nostrils - artificial, chemical smells to cover up the stench of disease, decay, wasting bodies. The knot in my stomach clenched even more tightly.

We entered the room to find my grandmother lying in bed asleep. Never before had she looked so old, so shrunken. A plastic tube covered her mouth and led to a machine beside the bed, and several other machines whirred and beeped in the background. Mom went to her side and took the wrinkled hand into her own.

"We're here, Mom," she said. "Me and Rose."

At first there was no response, but a few minutes later, one of the machines began to beep much more quickly, and I saw Granny's eyelids flutter and then open. A low groan welled up from deep inside her body.

"She's trying to say something." A nurse removed the tubing from her mouth.

"Janine." Granny's voice was barely a whisper.

"I'm right here, Mom," said Mom.

"Your father was a good man."

"I know he was."

Granny coughed. "He wasn't responsible for the evil his father did."

Mom frowned. "What are you talking about?"

The monitor flat lined.

"She's gone," said the nurse. "I'm very sorry."

"No! It can't be!" Mom began to sob hysterically.

Since we were already in town anyway, we checked into a nearby motel to stay until the funeral.

Mom continued to cry for most of the rest of that day, and I did my best to comfort her.

"She's in a better place now, Mom - one where she'll never be in pain again.

"What did she mean about my grandfather and his evil? I admit I didn't know much about him, but surely he couldn't have been _that_ bad!"

"Of course not, Mom. That was the drugs talking. She was on so much medication she didn't know what she was saying."

That night, I had so much on my mind I couldn't get to sleep. What if Granny's words _had_ been true, after all? What if my great grandfather really was an evil man? How bad could he have been? Would his victim, or victims, still be alive, and if so, would they want revenge on his descendants for what he'd done to them?

Sleep, when it finally came, was troubled with unpleasant dreams.


	13. Chapter 13

The funeral was, of course, a very somber affair. Granny looked very dignified and sedate lying there in her rose-colored dress which matched her rose-colored casket. It reminded me of how my stepfather had looked three and a half years before.

The minister gave a moving eulogy.

"Beverly Hathaway was an outstanding pillar of our community," he began. "Her life was never easy. Her parents died when she was very young, and she grew up in an orphanage, where at the age of eight, a bout with polio left her a cripple. Only through much courage and determination was she able to walk again. When she was twelve, the Brewers adopted her and took her into their home, but they turned out to be harsh disciplinarians who essentially turned her into their slave. Beverly's escape was her music. Her adoptive family owned a grand piano, and every chance she got, she spent hours practicing on it. Her talent earned her a scholarship to the prestigious Julliard School, where she met fellow musician Alan Hathaway.

The two of them spent many hours performing together, and over time, they fell in love. They married upon Beverly's graduation. During the sixties, they became active with the Civil Rights movement and even marched with Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., once. They also devoted hours of time to the Anti Defamation League. In the middle of all that, their daughter Janine was born, and she soon became the center of their world."

When he'd finished speaking, we all filed past the casket one last time, and then it was closed and we followed the pall bearers from the chapel to the burial plot, where a large dark green tent had been set up over several rows of chairs which were behind the opening over the vault, which already held Grandpa's casket. The headstone already had her name, birth date, and recently added date of death.

I wonder whether Dimitri and I will be buried together like that, I thought to myself.

Mom cried a bit more. I just felt numb all over.

After the funeral, we went back to the motel, where Mom ordered pizza. Later, someone from the assisted living facility where Granny had lived brought over boxes of her things for us to go through and see if any of it was worth keeping. I was sifting through some underwear and panty hose when I came to a navy blue men's sock. When I picked it up, I felt something prick my finger and looked down to see a drop of blood. I realized something was in the toe of the sock and shook it out.

Right away, I saw the object that had pricked my finger was a small swastika pin. Repulsed, I snatched it up and hurled it away from me as hard as I could and watched as it struck the wall and then fell to the floor. The other object was a name tag, which read 'Obersturmbannfuhrer Albrecht Heinemann.' Instantly, my mind was filled with questions. What did 'Obersturmbannfuhrer' mean? Was it a job title? Who was Albrecht Heinemann, and why were his name tag and that - _thin_ g - in with my grandmother's belongings?

Then I remembered the last words Granny had said before her death. _His real name wasn't Alan Hathaway._ Was Albrecht Heinemann his real name, then? It had the same first and last initials, and also the same first and last initials as - _oh dear God._

Nausea threatened to overtake me as I stared at the object in my hand. What should I do? Should I ask Mom if she knew anything about it? I knew I could never do that now, not while she was still in grief over her loss. Where would I find answers to my questions, then? Had Albrecht Heinemann been a high ranking Nazi? Was there a record of his misdeeds?

I knew I had to find out as soon as I could.

I put the name tag into my wallet, and on the flight back home, its existence burned a hole in my mind like an ulcer eating through the lining of a stomach. One part of me desperately wished I'd just tossed the navy blue sock into the trash without examining its contents. If I only had, I could have kept pretending my grandmother's last words had been nothing more than the mutterings of a dying woman who was so doped up she had no idea what she was saying.

Too late for that now, I told myself glumly.

Arriving at the airport, I took a taxi back to the apartment. As soon as I was inside, drowsiness overtook me, and I lay down on the bed and was asleep within seconds. I don't know how long I slept before the sound of footsteps awakened me, and I looked up to see my husband grinning ear to ear.

"Dimitri!" I cried. I'd never been so happy to see anyone in my entire life!

"Roza!" He took me into his arms and held me close. "Great news, hon. The agents loved our idea for the movie and want to start production in February. I'll be the director, and Lukas is going to try out for the lead role. This could be just the thing to get my career on track again!"

I smiled. "That's nice."

"Are you all right, Roza?"

"Granny died!" As soon as the words were out of my mouth, my body began to convulse with sobs.

"Oh, Rose, I'm so sorry!" He held me close and caressed me, rocking me like a baby. I felt myself slowly relax in his arms, and the tight ball of misery deep in the pit of my stomach began to loosen. We sat together on the bed, not saying a work, until at last I was able to talk.


	14. Chapter 14

"It happened right after you, Christian, and Lissa left for California," I began. Christian and Lissa had started dating soon after meeting each other, and a romance had quickly blossomed. Somehow, she'd convinced Macy's to give her time off to accompany her boyfriend to Hollywood.

"Mom called and told me she'd had a heart attack. She was at the airport, so I hurried right over to join them. You should have seen her when we got there, Dimitri - all pale and shriveled, lying there hooked up to machines. I've never seen anyone looking so weak and helpless!"

"Why didn't you call me?" he asked.

"I knew you were really busy and didn't want to disturb you, and besides, there was nothing you could have done, anyway."

"But you shouldn't have had to go through that all alone!"

"I wasn't, not really. Mom was there."

"Still, I wish you'd called and let me know." He brushed the hair back from my face. "I hope she didn't suffer."

"She only woke up for about five minutes, when we first got there," I told him. "Just long enough to say hello, and then - " I couldn't finish and broke down crying.

"I'm so sorry!" he said. "I should have been there with you!"

"It's all right. You had no way of knowing it was gonna happen."

"How's your Mom taking it?"

"All right, I guess." I gave a shuddering sigh in a attempt to pull myself together. "Sorry to throw a wet blanket on your good news."

"You're my wife, Roza. Whatever hurts you hurts me, too."

"Do you really mean it? That's so sweet!" Suddenly my heart was flooded with love for him.

"Of course I really mean it." He kissed the top of my head. "I love you, Roza, more than words could ever say."

"I love you too, Dimitri."

* * *

The next time I was alone in the apartment, I looked Albrecht Heinemann up on the internet and found a Wikipedia article about him right away.

"Heinemann was born to a working class family in Munich in 1910," I read. "His father was an alcoholic who beat the other family members. His mother was a maid for a wealthy family who owned a brewery. Heinemann joined the Nazi party as soon as he finished school. He married Klara Richter in 1934, and their only child, Albrecht, Jr, was born a year later.

During World War II, Heinemann was responsible for the deportation of thousands of Jews to extermination camps. After the war, he escaped to Argentina, where he worked for a government contractor until 1960, when Mossad captured him and flew him to Israel. Unwilling to face trial and possible execution, he killed himself in his prison cell."

A wave of relief swept over me. Albrecht Heinemann couldn't be my grandfather, then, since Mom wasn't even born until 1962. I read on.

"Heinemann's younger brother, Oliver, was a Lutheran minister who was in the Resistance. After being involved in a plot to kill Hitler, Oliver and his co-conspirators were hung with piano wire.

After the death of her husband, Heinemann's widow immigrated to the United States with her son and changed her name. She lived on an inheritance from her parents until her death in 1993."

I had to shudder at the description of Oliver's death. Sharp, tough, thin piano wire would slice right through the tender skin of the neck, and the weight of the dangling body would likely cause partial decapitation before the victim had time to suffocate. What a horrible way to die!

The information about Albrecht's wife and son intrigued me. Could Albrecht Heinemann, Jr., and Alan Harrison have been the same man? If so, no wonder he was so involved in the Civil Rights movement! He was trying to undo the evil his father had done the only way he knew how.

As for Oliver, how could two brothers have chosen such opposite paths in life? Had Albrecht, Sr. had any part in his younger brother's gruesome death?

My head was spinning and felt like it was so full of questions it was about to burst apart. Did Mom really not know any of this? How had Granny kept it from her all these years?

With a gasp, I put my hand over my abdomen. What kind of child was I bringing into the world? Was evil inherited? Would he, or she, grow up to be another monster?

I desperately hoped it wasn't true. Yet, if wasn't, why was that name tag in a sock with my grandmother's belongings? Unable to stand it anymore, I closed the tab and started to cry.

After awhile, I got up, washed my face, and began to practice clarinet. Dimitri came home a little while later. He took one look at me and frowned.

"Are you all right, Roza?"

"I'm OK," I lied.

He cupped my chin in his right hand as he gazed into my eyes.

"You've been crying."

I sighed. "I still feel really sad about Granny."

He smiled. "Come on. I know how to cheer you up."

He led me into the bedroom, where he began to undress me. As I felt my body respond to his ministrations, I began to relax, and my worries floated away.


	15. Chapter 15

I anguished over whether or not I should tell Mom what I'd learned. As Alan/Albrecht Jr.'s daughter, of course she had the right to know his secret, but should I burden her with that knowledge? She would undoubtedly be devastated, likely even more so than I was myself. Did I have the right to bring that on her, in addition to everything else she'd been through over the past several years?

Of course I didn't.

My two-month obstetrical visit was a welcome respite from the situation. After the nurse weighed me and took a urine sample, I waited in the exam room for Dr. Friedman.

"Hello, Rose," he said as he entered. "How have you been?"

"I've been all right," I told him.

"How's the morning sickness?"

"I'm managing OK. I just can't eat meat - except for baked chicken. I can eat that OK."

He laughed. "Well, at least you have a good source of protein. Other than that, how do you feel? Any mood swings?"

I sighed. "It's been kind of a rough month for me. I lost my Granny two weeks ago."

"Oh, no! I'm so sorry!"

"Thanks."

"Losing someone is hard, especially when you're already going through so many changes as it is."

"I know."

He gave me a brief checkup.

"Everything seems to be progressing normally so far," he told me. "Keep eating that baked chicken, and any other healthy foods you can tolerate, and get plenty of rest. I'll see you again in one month." He smiled and patted my knee.

* * *

With Thanksgiving approaching, a new dilemma was upon us.

"Should we spend Thanksgiving with your family or with mine?" I asked Dimitri the weekend before the holiday.

"I'll spend it with mine, and you can spend it with yours."

I gasped. "Dimitri!"

He laughed and swatted my butt. "Just kidding. Whatever you want to do, love. I'll leave it up to you."

"Well, I don't want to hurt anyone's feelings," I said.

"So we'll switch mid meal."

I burst out giggling, and he joined in.

"How about we visit your parents this year and mine next year," he suggested.

"Sounds good to me," I replied.

"What would you ever do without me?" he teased.

"I hope I never have to find out."

"Of course you won't."

* * *

On Thanksgiving Day, Dimitri drove us to my parents' house. The delicious aroma of the turkey and vegetables assaulted my nostrils as soon as I stepped inside.

Mom brought the final steaming bowl to the table and set it on a trivet. Dad said the blessing, and then we all dug in.

"You seem awfully quiet," Dimitri remarked as we were on our way home. "What's on your mind?"

"Nothing in particular." I yawned. "I'm just so sleepy! I guess it's a combination of pigging out because it's Thanksgiving and being pregnant."

He laughed. "I'm glad you got your appetite back."

The following day, I received a telephone call from Lissa.

"How was your Thanksgiving?" she asked.

"It was nice," I told her. "How was yours?"

"It was great! Christian charmed my entire family."

"I'm glad you had a good day."

"Thanks. Hey, I was wondering if you'd like to go shopping with me on one of your days off next week. I have to work all day long on Saturday, of course - everyone does - but I'm off on Monday. Want to go then?"

"Yeah!" Shopping with a friend always cheered me up, and I needed cheering up right then.

All weekend long I looked forward to the excursion. I already knew what I wanted to get some of my family members and friends, but for some of them, I was clueless.


	16. Chapter 16

"Ready to go?" Lissa asked as soon as I opened the door. She was positively radiant, glowing like a neon sign. Must have been some weekend, I concluded.

"Let me run the brush through my hair one more time," I replied.

"Oh, you look fine, Rose," she told me as I hurried to the restroom.

I locked the door, and we were on our way.

We took the subway to the mall to find that it was, of course, all decked out with red and green streamers with a huge tree full of differently colored balls. A man in a Santa suit sat in a chair beside it with a long line of small children waiting to sit in his lap.

"Just think - this time next year, I'll have a six-month-old!" I remarked.

"Isn't that awesome!" Lissa replied.

"How was your weekend? Did you and Dimitri do anything?"

"We watched a couple of good movies on Netflix Friday night. Saturday, we went to Central Park. We went to the zoo and ate hot dogs, and then we went to Denny's for dinner. What did you and Christian do?"

"We had a blast!" The way her eyes were sparkling, I knew she wasn't exaggerating. "Friday night he took me dancing, and we didn't get back to his place until two in the morning. Saturday morning, he served me breakfast in bed, and we spent the day in Greenwich. That evening, we had seafood and white wine, and I slept over at his place again. He took me home Sunday morning."

"So you're sleeping with him now."

"Of course I am! I have been since Hollywood. How long did you wait to sleep with Dimitri?"

"We didn't go all the way until our wedding night."

She gasped. "You're kidding me!"

"I was only eighteen when we got married, you know."

"Oh yeah, that's right. Well, it was probably smart of you to wait, then."

"You'd better be careful, Lissa."

"Oh, don't worry. We're using protection, or he is, rather."

"It's more than just that. If I were you, I'd make sure I knew how he felt about me. You can't put a Band Aid on a broken heart."

"Well, he's never actually told me he loves me, but the way he treats me, he must really care for me."

"Just be careful."

She grabbed my arm. "Oh, let's go in there! It's my favorite store!"

We went to the men's section, where I quickly located Dimitri's favorite cologne.

"Here's Christian's!" Courtney cried, grabbing a bottle off the shelf.

What to get Dad? I wondered next. I came to a display of hats and gloves and remembered how he'd complained about the cold the last time I'd talked to him. I grabbed a matching hat and glove set.

"I need to find something for Mom," I told Lissa.

"Yeah, me too!" she replied.

Soon we were looking at negligees, slips, lacy underwear, and pantyhose. Mom was always complaining about runs in her hose, so I bought her a package of twelve pairs. That should last her awhile, I told myself.

"That's all the adults for me," I said.

"I still have my aunt," Lissa replied.

"I'm heading down to the game store to look for presents for my cousins," I told her.

"I'll come down there in a few minutes," she said.

Confronted with the wide array of computer games available, my eyes zipped over the selections until I found each boy's favorite. I was standing in line at the register when I saw Lissa walk in and called to her.

"Whatcha got?" she asked. I showed her the games I'd chosen. "Cool! I'm heading down to the food court. Meet me when you're finished here."

"OK."

I bought the games, congratulated myself on finishing my Christmas shopping in one morning, and walked toward the food court, where I saw Lissa standing in line at the burger place and joined her.

"So what do you and Dimitri have planned for Christmas?" she asked as we were eating.

"Just visiting family, like usual," I replied, munching on a French fry.

"Christian is taking me to Colorado," she bragged. "He's going to teach me how to ski."

"Not a good idea when you're pregnant," I commented.

She chuckled. "That's why I'm glad I'm not!"

Her words made me wonder whether I should have postponed getting pregnant. Dimitri and I had been happy and in love and not particularly concerned about what happened and when, but in hindsight, perhaps we should have waited a year or two before letting it happen. If we had, we could have gone skiing together this winter, too.

When I got home, I was so sleepy I hid the presents in the closet without wrapping them first, then lay down to take a nap. When I awakened, I had just enough time to wrap them and fix dinner before Dimitri got home.

I went to the door to welcome him as soon as I heard it open. We embraced and kissed.

"So how was your day?" I asked him.

"Busy," he replied. "Getting ready for the Broadway Christmas special. How was yours?"

"It was nice," I told him. "I went shopping at the mall with Lissa and bought something for everyone in my family."

He gasped. "You finished in one morning? Wow!"

"I sure did!"


	17. Chapter 17

My four month appointment with Dr. Friedman was on a freezing cold day in January. I put on my warmest sweater and my coat and took the subway. Dimitri had taken our car to work.

Arriving at the crowded waiting room, I signed the register and found a seat in the room filled with women and their protruding bellies. My own waist had only begun to thicken. I knew I'd soon have to start wearing the maternity clothes I'd bought when I'd gone shopping with Mom.

I found I was sitting beside a brunette who looked like she was almost ready to deliver. She smiled as I sat down.

"Is this your first?" she asked.

"Yes," I replied. "Is it the first for you, too?"

"Oh, no. This one's my third. I already have two boys. I told my husband, if this one's a girl, I'm getting my tubes tied after she's born."

"And what if it's a boy?"

She rolled her eyes. "Oh dear God, no!"

"You must be pretty close to your due date," I remarked.

"Not really," she replied. "I'm only six months along."

Wow! I thought to myself. Are there twins in there?

She was called back then, and I picked up a magazine and leafed through it until I heard my own name being called.

The nurse weighed me and collected a urine sample, then led me down the hallway to the familiar examining room to await the arrival of Dr. Friedman. He showed up about fifteen minutes later. First, he checked the baby's heartbeat with his Doppler.

"Nice and strong," he told me. "So far, everything seems to be right on schedule. Do you have any questions for me?"

"My husband is flying to California to make a movie next month," I told him. "It will mean a lot to me if I can go with him. Will that be all right?"

"As long as you don't have any complications between now and then, I don't see why not," he said. "Just be sure and stay near a hospital in case of emergency."

"Oh, thank you!" I cried. I couldn't wait to tell Dimitri the good news.


	18. Chapter 18

New Year's Day came and went. We spent the day with Dimitri's family. Ivan opened a bottle of wine, and Dimitri had a couple of glasses, but I abstained because of my pregnancy.

I first felt my child move inside me one morning in late January. Dimitri had just left for work, and I was cleaning up after breakfast when a faint movement, like the flutter of a tiny bird's wing, startled me. It only took me a couple of seconds to realize what it was, and when I did, a thrill went through me. I couldn't wait to tell Dimitri about it!

My chance came when we were cuddling together on the sofa watching television that evening. When I felt the same faint flutter, I took Dimitri's hand and placed it on my bare belly. He frowned, but a moment later, our child moved again. Dimitri's eyes grew wide as his grin spread all over his face.

"Our baby!" His voice was soft with wonder. A moment later, his lips met mine, and the movie was forgotten.

* * *

At last, the morning of our departure for California arrived. We met Lissa and Christian at the airport. Lissa was wild with anticipation.

"I just _know_ this movie's gonna be a major hit!" she said. "Christian said I might can get a bit part - hey, maybe we'll both get bit parts!"

"Only if there's a part for a pregnant woman," I said wryly. I'd just had to start wearing my maternity clothes.

"Oh, yeah." Her smile faded just a little. "Well - maybe there will even be a role for a pregnant woman!"

"Even if there isn't, at least I get to come along this time." It wasn't that I didn't trust Dimitri. Since our wedding, he'd been more loving and attentive than ever, and he'd seemed so sincere about turning over a new leaf, I believed him. It was simply that I didn't exactly cherish spending all that time away from my husband, and in the bitter cold of a New York winter, California sunshine would be a welcome sight.

Guy had been very understanding.

On the airplane, I sat between Dimitri and Lissa. Lissa continued to chatter excitedly, while Dimitri and Christian listened to music through headphones. I listened to Lissa, saying 'uh huh' at appropriate times.

Upon our arrival, we took a cab to Ivan's Hollywood home, where Dimitri and I had stayed during the filming of 'You Were Made For Me,' and again the following summer.

"We get to sleep together in the same room this time!" I did a little victory dance just inside the doorway.

Dimitri grinned. "That's right!" He kissed my lips, the tip of his tongue promising a passionate encounter to come. I felt myself grow moist just thinking about it.

I took a look around and saw that everything looked pretty much the same since the last time I'd been there.

"It seems like such a long time ago!" I said, running my hand over the nearest chair.

Dimitri nodded. "A lot has happened."

We rested for a couple of hours, and then Dimitri and Christian ordered out steak sandwiches for everyone. While eating, we watched several of Ivan's older movies: 'Lonely Hearts,' 'Woman Times Infinity,' and "Can't Wait Till Dark'. We went to bed a little past midnight.

Dimitri and I would be staying in the room he'd stayed in alone before, and Christian and Lissa would be staying in my old room.

"Wow! This room's even nicer than the other one!" I said. Instead of lavender, its color theme was sea green, and it was larger as well.

"And it's all ours." Dimitri began kissing my neck, and I felt myself go weak. As his hands roamed all over my body, which was still clothed in my pajamas, I let out an involuntary soft moan.

He led me to the bed, where he removed my clothing and made slow, gentle love to me. Afterwards, I fell asleep in his arms.

The next day, it was time to report to the studio to begin casting for the movie. Christian was chosen for the part of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, and Lissa and I got bit parts as onlookers who witness the assassination. Since our parts were so brief and near the end of the movie, Lissa and I had several weeks to spend seeing the sights of L.A. together while Dimitri and Christian were hard at work. Taking the buses and subways, we visited the Crossroads of the World, Angels Flight, L.A. live, and many other places. In the evenings, there was relaxing at home with Dimitri and Christian.

It was the nearest thing to heaven on earth I'd ever experienced.

The day to film our parts finally arrived, and we accompanied Dimitri and Christian to the studio. We were told to sit in a cafe. The actor who played the assassin, Gavrilo Princip, sat near us, looking out a window. Christian and his female co-star, a pretty blonde slightly older than Lissa and me, sat in the vintage 1910 automobile that had been rented for the movie.

Suddenly, the actor playing Princip jumped up, walked out of the cafe, and shot at Christian and his co-star. Instantly, the fake blood they'd been holding slipped through their fingers and spread all over their clothing as they slumped as if dead.

Lissa let out a bloodcurdling scream.

"Excellent!" Dimitri praised her, but she only continued to stare at the actors as if in a daze.


	19. Chapter 19

"Cut!" said Dimitri. He walked over to Lissa with a look of concern on his face. "Are you OK?" he asked. He touched her arm, and she began to sob.

The set was chaos for a few minutes as Christian held Lissa and comforted her while everyone else just looked bewildered.

"It just looked so _real!"_ Lissa kept insisting, over and over.

"Let's take a break," said Dimitri. The five of us - Dimitri, Christian, Lissa, Christian's co-star, Alexis, and me - went to the break area and sat down.

"I feel so silly!" said Lissa. "I can't believe I over reacted like that!"

"Have you ever seen anybody get shot in real life?" I asked.

"Not a person," she replied. "When I was little, we were visiting my grandparents. My cousin Tyler had a BB gun and was shooting birds. I saw one of them. It was lying there so still with blood all over its feathers. I just cried and cried!"

"That probably explains it, then," Christian reasoned. "The sight of blood, even fake blood, brought back memories of that unfortunate incident."

"At the risk of sounding selfish, it _did_ result in a fantastic shot," Dimitri pointed out.

"Well, that's what I'm getting paid for." Lissa gave Christian a tight hug. "I was just so relieved to see you were really all right, after all!"

"Hey, what about me?" asked Alexis.

"We're all very glad to see you're both all right," Dimitri said generously.

"Thank you," said Alexis.

It was soon time to start packing to leave for New York. I found my clarinet in my suitcase and remembered I'd brought it along for in case I got bored. I picked it up and began to play one of the pieces I'd learned in high school band.

A few minutes later, I heard a knock on the door.

"Who's there?" I asked.

"Christian. Can I come in?"

"Sure."

He stepped inside. "I didn't know you could play clarinet."

"I played it in band all the way through middle and high school."

"You play really well."

"Thank you."

"Do you mind if I record you?"

"Not at all." I played Mozart's Clarinet Concerto in A Major. When I finished, he applauded.

"Very good!"

Not thinking any more of it, I put my clarinet back into the suitcase and finished packing.

* * *

Returning to work at the Box Office, I was amazed to find myself treated like a celebrity. Taylor, Jordan, and even Dara were full of questions about my adventures in Hollywood.

"How long before the movie will be in the theaters?" Jordan wanted to know.

"Dimitri told me about May," I replied.

"Is he in it too?" asked Taylor.

"No, he directed it," I told her. "He wanted experience as a director, and this opportunity came up for him."

Dara grimaced. "He was in 'Together At Last,' wasn't he?"

"Yeah." I swallowed hard at the memory of the flop he'd starred in with Haley. Did she sleep together with him in the bed he and I had just shared?

I really, truly didn't want to know the answer to that question.

"Well, I hope this one does better," Dara went on.

"Thanks. So do I," I said.

Soon things were back to normal. My obstetrical appointment for March went fine. Easter had come and gone before I realized I hadn't heard a peep from Lissa since leaving her at the airport. On impulse, I dialed her number one day.

"Rose! I'm so glad you called," she told me. "I've been wanting to talk to you for ages, but I haven't been able to get up the nerve to call you."

"What are you talking about?" I asked.

A long hesitation followed. I began to wonder if she'd put the receiver down and forgotten about it when I finally heard her voice again.

"Could we meet somewhere tomorrow?" she asked. "I need to talk to you in person."

"What's wrong?" I asked.

"I have a secret," she told me. "Nobody knows but me. I've been dying to tell someone, but - I'm scared!"

"Meet me for lunch tomorrow," I suggested. "It's one of my days off. How about the food court at the mall?"

"Could we meet at Starbucks instead?" she asked. "All that food - the smell - "

I suspected I knew what her secret was.

"Sure, no problem," I replied. "The do have an awesome chicken Caesar salad."

I was sipping a white chocolate mocha when I saw her walk in the next day. She ordered a latte and then came over and sat across from me.

"Are you all right?" I asked.

She shook her head. "Not really. What it is, is that - remember that day we were shooting the assassination scene and I got so upset?"

"Yeah." I wondered what she was getting at.

"Well, that night, we forgot to use protection. I didn't think anything of it until I missed my period. They've been late before, so I wasn't really worried until I started having symptoms - swollen breasts, feeling tired and icky all the time. I finally got up the nerve to buy a pregnancy test."

"And?"

"It was positive."

"Have you told Christian yet?"

"No. I'm too scared. What if he gets angry and dumps me?"

I didn't know what to say. Her situation was completely different from mine. I was happily married to the man I loved, while she was sleeping with someone she'd known only a few months.

"He has the right to know," I told her.

"Can you help me tell him, please, Rose?"

I sighed. "I'm sorry, Lissa, but I think this is something you're gonna have to do yourself."

Lissa stared at the table top. "I guess you're right."

"Let me know how it turns out, OK?" I asked.

"OK, I will."

We ate our food in silence.


	20. Chapter 20

I told Dimitri about my conversation with Lissa as we were eating our beef tips with rice that night.

"I understand how she feels," I told him. "Christian could just walk away from the situation, if he wanted to."

"I don't think he's that kind of guy," he replied.

"I know _you_ sure aren't," I said, remembering the unfortunate incident with Sarah he'd tried so hard to put behind him.

He grinned. "You never put me to the test."

"Nope."

I felt his hand under the table slip into mine. "We're doing it the right way, Roza, and I'm so glad."

Lissa called me several weeks later. "Guess what!" she said breathlessly.

"What?" I asked.

"Christian and I are getting married!" she squealed. "It'll be the last weekend in April, at the Orthodox church on 65th street. Christian's family is flying in from Romania, and we're going there for our honeymoon! Oh, Rose, I'm so excited! I can't wait!"

"That's great!" I said. "I'm really happy for you."

"Thanks. Just think! I'd never flown anywhere in my life before I met Christian, and already this will be my third airplane trip in less than a year!"

"I never flew anywhere, either, until I flew to New York to meet Dad for the first time when I was fifteen," I told her. "Then after I met Dimitri, I started flying to California every few months!"

Except during the time he and Haley were filming 'Together At Last', I wanted to say, but didn't.

I went back to Dr. Friedman a few days later.

"Everything's right on schedule," he assured me. "I'll see you again in two weeks."

"Two weeks?" I'd only seen him once a month up until now.

"Yes, and for the last month, I'll see you every week. It's just standard procedure - nothing to worry about."

Dimitri and I started Lamaze classes at the hospital that Thursday. The teacher, a woman named Wendy, had all of us introduce ourselves. When Dimitri said who he was, she frowned.

"I'm sure I've heard that name before, but I don't remember where," she said. "You look familiar, too."

"I've been in several movies," Dimitri told her.

She smiled. "Ah! That's it, then. But you live here instead of Los Angeles."

"My regular job is on Broadway," Dimitri explained.

"I see," said Wendy. She continued with the introductions and then started the first lesson, which covered the changes a woman's body went through during pregnancy, stages of labor, and birth plans. After about an hour, we had a fifteen minute break in which to snack and talk among ourselves. Dimitri was the center of attention right away. All the other couples wanted to know about all the movies he'd been in and, enjoying the spotlight, he went into detail about the ones which had been the biggest hits. He didn't mention 'Together At Last' at all.

I felt invisible, but it was a feeling I was starting to get used to.

There was about another hour of instruction, and then class was dismissed. A chubby blonde with stringy hair and bad acne scars came up to me as we were leaving.

"It must be awesome to be married to a big star like that," she said. "How did you guys meet?"

"The first day of tenth grade, on the bus to school," I told her. "Dimitri invited me to sit by him. He was a senior."

"Wow! So you've been together since then, right?"

"More or less." I certainly didn't feel like going into detail about Haley, and of course I'd never mention the devastating discovery I'd made when I'd visited Dimitri the summer before my senior year.

"You're a very lucky girl."

"I know. What's your name again?"

"Samantha, and my husband's name is Jason."

The classes continued, and Dimitri and I learned how to alternate blowing and panting. He he who, he who. I felt like a train puffing into the station.

The day of Christian and Lissa's wedding arrived. It was a small ceremony in a chapel off the main sanctuary. Lissa was gorgeous in her lacy white gown, and Christian was handsome in his black tuxedo. His parents, the Ozeras, were there with their daughters, Maria and Elena. Luckily, they all spoke fluent English.

At the reception, Christian introduced them to Lissa, then to Dimitri and me. I realized Lissa was meeting her new in-laws for the first time. To me, that seemed surreal. I'd known Dimitri's family since the December after I met him.

"So you are the man who has made my son a star," Mrs. Ozera said to Dimitri as they shook hands.

He smiled. "I certainly hope so!"

"And you will have a little one soon," she said as she shook hands with me. "Babies are so sweet. I was thrilled when I learned I am to be a grandmother for the first time."

Even the way it happened? I wanted to ask, but didn't.

The other guests started leaving after awhile, and Dimitri asked me if I was ready to go.

"Sure," I replied. "My back hurts, anyway."

He smiled. "I'll give you a massage when we get home. How's that sound?"

"Heavenly!"


End file.
